Articles
Slavery and God
Slavery notes from Sunday night sermon
IF God were good He would have… Such a statement simply ignores the whole free-will and accountability issue. Men, beginning with Adam and Eve, chose to go their own way and not listen to God.
If God were good he would have [prohibited, forcibly stopped?.. ] slavery.
In the beginning, ALL people are in God’s image (Gen. 1:26-27). Yet the slide into evil and inhuman treatment of people quickly came. By the time of Noah, man’s heart was upon evil and that continually resulting in God’s destroying the world.
Slavery as part of the whole economic structure of society developed long before the law of Moses. Egypt is an example of such. Joseph was ‘sold’ into slavery, yet, as a ‘house servant’ held an honorable position. Under Pharaoh was elevated to honor. On the other hand, those who built the pyramids often found brutal treatment. Much of ‘slavery’ was economic and the 9-5 job that you can quit with 2 weeks notice simply was not part of the whole social scheme. Hence it becomes a ‘mixed’ bag in trying to deal with such as there was much ‘good’ in the sense of economic / social structure, yet it included the basis for much evil.
Ancient / other societies did develop some aspects of slavery that aren’t very good:
· Slave = property.
· Owners ‘rights over’ were total and absolute
· Slave was thus stripped of identity (race, family, social, marriage.. )
In OT - slavery was much more akin to an indentured servant - and not ‘property slave’. Thus slavery in the OT was NOT like either the rest of the world then OR American form.. for God DID legislate.
· Sells self into such (or family) - Lev. 25:47, 39; Deut. 15:12
· Released from every 7th year! - Deut. 15:12 [thus they returned to full citizenship and social standing].
· NOT to be treated ruthlessly - Lev. 25:53-54
· Lifelong prohibited - Ex. 21:5
· Release of injured servant - Ex. 21:26-27
· Death penalty for killing a servant - Ex. 21:20
· NO kidnapping into slavery - Ex. 21:16; Deut. 24:7 - (1Tim. 1:10; Rev. 18:11-30).
· Helping run-aways - Deut. 23:15-16
· NOT enslave fellow-Israelite - Deut. 23:16
As the great world powers came and went, they all included the economic situation of the various forms of slavery. None were as fair as what Israel had. The Roman world that existed at the time of Jesus like wise included various forms of slavery as their economic platform. Many of the urban slaves and house-hold slaves were treated very well. They were often educated, had the right to themselves own both property and slaves, and often were set free when they turned 30. There was also much evil in Roman slavery like those who were forced to work in the mines.
Thus we can read such statements as this: "In modern slavery, slave illiteracy was often required by law; in ancient slavery, an educated slave was prized. In cities throughout the ancient Mediterranean world, slaves were trained and served as physicians, architects, craftspeople, shopkeepers, cooks, barbers, artists, thespians, magicians, prophets (e.g., Acts 16:16–24), teachers, professional poets and philosophers. Some slaves could accumulate considerable wealth from their occupations.” [Dict. of NT Backgrounds].
The differences between such ancient slavery and what was experienced in America has been pointed out. Notice:
"To understand NT texts mentioning slavery, one must keep in mind major factors that distinguish first-century slavery from that later practiced in the New World.
· Race differences played no role, and an enslaved person generally could not be distinguished by appearance.
· Education was encouraged and enhanced a slave’s value (some slaves were better educated than their owners).
· Many slaves functioned in sensitive and highly responsible positions (see Phil. 4:22: “those of the emperor’s household,” some of whom were Christians).
· Persons sometimes sold themselves into slavery to escape poverty, pay debts, climb socially, and obtain special jobs.
· Slaves could control property (including owning their own slaves).
· Slaves’ cultural and religious traditions were largely those of the free.
· No laws prevented public assemblies of slaves. And
· the majority of urban and domestic slaves could anticipate being set free (manumitted) by age thirty, becoming “freedmen” or “freedwomen” (1 Cor. 7:21–23; Acts 6:9). [from HarperCollins Bible Dict.].
We have Jesus entering into an already established social / political situation. One estimate stated that 80%+ were ‘slaves’ of some form although the more common figure is often 50% or less. It was a large element of the whole Roman economic situation. Jesus’ teaching was not imposed upon the whole of such situation - but upon ‘people’ individually. Each will be judged on how they treat each other, but there was no attempt to rubber-stamp a complete change upon the current situation.
The teaching of the NT does lay the very foundation that destroys that form of slavery that dehumanizes people -
Do unto others - Matt. 7:12
Picture of godly character - put off / on applied - Eph. 4:
Fruit of the spirit vs. flesh in Gal. 5:19f
Matthew 7:12 - "“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."
The teaching on how masters would treat their slaves would in fact eliminate the evil that we often associate with the idea of slavery. "Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven” (Col. 4:1). "Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him” (Eph. 6:9).
Within the body of believers, slavery continued to exist but it was reduced to more of an economic work relationship and spiritually had no bearing on salvation. ""There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:28). “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all” (Col. 3:11).
Upon being baptized into Christ, one becomes a brother in the Lord whether he is a slave or a free man. Becoming a Christian did not change the worldly standing of either the master or the slave. The slave was taught to continue as a slave but now as a honest, faithful, hardworking slave (cp. Eph. 6:5-8; Col. 3:22-25; 1 Tim. 6:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:18-21). However, the master was taught to treat his slave with honor, dignity, fairness, and respect (see above). As Christianity gradually took over the Roman spiritual world, the evils of slavery disappeared.
If God were good … He IS and WAS. He set up the very foundation that destroyed and eliminated the evil of all slavery situations and created a situation where everyone is treated humanly.
